1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an LED video display apparatus and method of operating the same and more particularly to such and apparatus with an increased wide angle viewing area and a method of normalizing the output to an individual color LED or LEDs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Large signs and billboards have been in wide use for many years as a medium for advertising and for imparting information to the public. Traditionally, signs and billboards have been used to exhibit a single advertising theme, product, or message. Due to the fixed print nature of this medium, it did not lend itself to displaying a larger series of ideas as would be common with a medium such as television.
Within the last several decades, this has changed. The advances of technology in such areas as light emitting sources, and in particular light emitting diodes (LEDs), has made it possible to provide a series of messages to signs and billboards. As a result, a wide variation of words and images can be projected in a variety of ways from the same sign to advertise and inform the public.
For example, during sporting events animated signs can heighten a fan's involvement in the game with slogans and images. Also, advertisers can get the attention of viewers to encourage purchasing products ranging from such things as a specific beverage, to items that may not be available at the game. The fixed print surface portion of billboards can be replaced with multiple light sources that can exhibit multiple advertisers and messages to passing motorists. Applying LEDs to this medium has increased the effectiveness of the presentation and has captured public notice.
LED Video/Graphic Boards, as they are commonly known, have been in production and use throughout Asia for nearly ten years. Color LEDs are arranged in pixels and the pixels form an array. Various numbers of arrays can be combined to produce a display apparatus. Such a display have uses in applications such as billboards and signs.
Only within the last five years has it become economically feasible to produce Large-Area Full-Color Video/Graphic Boards. These units have appeared in such places as Times Square, Las Vegas, Rock Concerts, Theme Parks, and Trade shows. However, the current use of LEDs for these purposes has significant drawbacks.
Initially LEDs suffered from substantial technical limitations. They proved expensive, had low power output, produced a substantial amount of heat, as a by-product, in operation and due to the accompanying electronic circuitry, exhibited poor reliability in sign and billboard applications. Also such LEDs did not provide good resolution or contrast. Improvements over the last several years have resulted in lower cost for certain types of LEDs while exhibiting higher power output and increased reliability. This, along with advances in electronic power circuitry, allowing for lower heat loss, has resulted in increased use of LEDs in billboard and sign applications. However, a major problem still remains in that the displays do not provide a very good level of contrast or resolution and viewability from a variety of viewing angles.
The typical LED radiates light in substantially a circular cross sectional pattern or in a conical three-dimensional volume. Usually the greatest power distribution of the light is directly in front of the LED and the power drops off dramatically at the edges of the LED radiating cone. Usually this variation in power over viewing angle is characterized as a normal or Gaussian distribution depending on the effective focal length of the integral LED collecting lens. If a viewer moves from directly in front of the LED, there is a substantial amount of light that is not directed toward the viewer. As the viewer moves to the side of the LED, the viewer receives substantially less light. Not only is this inefficient, allowing for a very limited optimal viewing point, but the wasted light can interfere with the contrast of other LEDs in a display system. One way to overcome this problem is to use an LED that can produce light in a fixed pattern that has a more useful distribution of power over a wide angle.
The Nichia Corporation produces a “super oval” LED that distributes its light more evenly over a wider horizontal viewing plane, i.e. over a range of approximately −50 degrees from the center and +50 degrees from the center across the horizontal plane. However, between 50 and 90 degrees on both sides of the zero point of the plane the luminosity decreases in nearly an exponential fashion. This translates into a viewing range that is better than a standard LED system, but provides a harsh transition for the viewer beyond approximately 50 degrees from the center of radiation in both directions. Furthermore, the super oval LED accomplishes distributing the light by building into the LED a special optical element. Such a process naturally increases the cost of the LED. Finally, since the super oval type LED has the collecting lens cast within the LED as well as a reflector, the lens and reflector cannot be removed and changed if conditions so warrant.
A characteristic of super oval type LEDs is that the form of the output beam is not well controlled. When dispersion occurs along the horizontal axis there is a dispersive effect on the vertical axis. Thus, a dispersion in the horizontal makes for a dispersion in the vertical whether or not a vertical dispersion is desired.
A further problem with existing apparatus is that the power projected by an individual LED, pixel, and pixel array apparatus may vary. This is due to the variable output of individual LEDs which may not be consistent due to manufacturing and quality processes. Such problems leads to what is known as “tiling.” This is where the brighter apparatus, an array or groups, i.e. of pixels, of a display stand out over the rest of the display. Tiling detracts from the quality of the display and can be an annoyance to a viewer.
What is needed is a color apparatus that can deliver a greater useful viewing angle, have better resolution and contrast, have better uniformity to reduce the possibility of tiling, have the capability to uniformly change the divergence of the light, and that utilizes less expensive LEDs.